Kanniya Hot Well Trincomalee
The famous Kanniya Hot Springs of Trincomalee are indeed what they are, a natural series of hot baths that have been opened for the public at an old historical site dating back to the age of Ravana, as is said, to almost five thousand years ago to the Vedic period when Indo Aryan migrations were occurring on a large scale. It is said that the legendary Rakshasa (native Iron Age tribes equated with demons) was a great devotee of Lord Shiva, a fact clearly displayed in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is said to have defeated by the god himself when his mother was ill and their prayers did not cure her illness. Thus in Ravana’s anger he tried to destroy the incredibly sacred spot of Koneswaram Temple in a show of power over him. His defeat is said to have coincided with her death and in a display of grief he thrust his sword into the ground, making warm water burst forth. Here begins the incredible history of Kanniya, and it continues with a number of new renovations taking over from the lost works of old, building up on the ashes of what had long since passed. According to the much later Mahabharata, written somewhere during the 1st Century BC, the Hot Springs were a place of worship to devotees of Shiva, and that all sentient creatures stopped off at Gokarna Bay-or Gokanna, ancient terms for Trincomalee-to pray here. Much later it was converted into a Buddhist monastery but there is absolutely no written record of this. In total there are seven separate wells, each cut off from the rest by square stone foundations.Thus the Hot Springs continue to be a place of worship and of interest even today among members of the Hindu population.
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Inscriptions revels that the hot springs were reserved by the Buddhist Monks who were residing the area during Anuradhapura period. Kanniya Hot Spring site is protected monuments / site by Department of Archeological Sri Lanka. Even today, there are ancient ruins visible but most of them were destroyed during Sri Lankan war ended in 2009. According to the archeological analysis, these wells were probably a part of a pond complex used by Buddhist monks of Velgam Vehera Buddhist Monastery and a large number of remains of Buddhist building has been recovered around Kanniya Hot Spring site.
According to King Ravana era It says that King Ravana stuck the earth with his sword in several spots and several fountains sprang from these points. The water was hot and this was the beginning of these hot water springs. Therefore, this is one of the Ramayana Yatra related site as well in Sri Lanka.
Geothermal springs are the natural springs that contain hot water. Hydro geothermal systems link the global lithosphere, hydrological and atmospheric cycles of the environment. Generally three important factors control the generation of hot springs, including heat sources, ground water and reservoir rocks.
The surface temperatures of the Kinniya spring water range from 30 ºC to 37 ºC, all of which can be classified as warm springs. The spring water is classified as weakly basic as indicated by the invariable pH from 6.7 to 7.3. Conductivity of the Kinniya hot springs at 25 ºC shows insignificant variation ranging from 288 to 428 μS/cm (Table 2). In the surface temperatures of the Madunagala spring water range from 34 ºC to 46 ºC, all of which can be classified as warm thermal springs.
Further study reveals that due to increases of atmospheric precipitation decreases the thermal temperature decreases and a corresponding decrease atmospheric precipitation which defines increases the thermal water. Therefore, there is an existing intimate relation between atmospheric precipitation and thermal groundwater. The chemical analysis results revealed that Kinniya spring water contains more HCO3 and Madunagala spring water contained more Cl ions.
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